Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara and Bradley Wiggins! The world time trial championships have rarely been more exciting than this year when three of the best time trialists during the last decade plan to go head to head on a course that favours raw power and high speed. With Martin gunning for his third consecutive title, Cancellara aiming at reclaiming his crown and Wiggins hoping to fill an obvious gap on his palmares, the race is the most unpredictable in recent years and the fierce competition adds further prestige to what is already a highly coveted jersey.

Time trialing has always been a natural part of cycling and is the sport in its purest format. While road races are often extremely complicated affairs where team tactics, drafting and gambling are almost as important as pure strength, there's nowhere to hide in a time trial. When riders are asked to find out who's the fastest on the same course, it all comes down to power, an ability to concentrate and ride to the maximum for an extended period of time and the right gauge of one's effort.

Time trials have always played a crucial role in stage races and the world has had its highly prestigious one-day races against the clock with the Grand Prix des Nations being the most notable example. With this long history, it's a mystery that individual time trialing wasn't included in the world championships until 1994 when Chris Boardman won the first rainbow stripes in Catania. Since then it has been an important part of the global event and has only gained added prestige as time has gone by.

While all riders dream of participating in the road race at some point of their career, the time trial remains an exclusive event for the riders that specialize in the discipline. There's room for the lesser-known riders from some of the smaller cycling nations but otherwise it's a race for people that really love the pure and punishing discipline.

The winner's list tells the story about an event that has attracted the finest time trialists in the world. Boardman, Miguel Indurain, Alex Zülle, Laurent Jalabert, Abraham Olano, Jan Ullrich (twice), Serhiy Honchar, Santiago Botero, Michael Rogers (three times), Fabian Cancellara (four times), Bert Grabsch and Tony Martin (twice) are the only riders to have worn the coveted rainbow jersey and there's no room for any kind of lucky, unexpected winner on this highly prestigious list.

It remains a clear intention for the organizers that the title belongs to one of the great specialists. While there have been hilly courses in the past - just recall last year's difficult route in Limburg that included the famous Cauberg - the course designers have always stayed away from any kind of excessive climbing. That won't change this year when the route appears to be the easiest for years with long, flat, straight roads making it a day for big power and high speed.

Last year Tony Martin defended his maiden title in the event in a very exciting and close race. Having crushed Bradley Wiggins and Cancellara one year earlier in Copenhagen, it was a fitting reflection of a difficult season for the German that he was challenged heavily by Taylor Phinney in a race where he was the outstanding favourite in the absence of Cancellara and Wiggins. He managed to take the win by just 5,37 seconds on the hilly course in Limburg while Vasil Kiriyenka became a hugely surprising bronze medalist. This year Martin is back as he tries to make it three in a row and will be up against Cancellara and Wiggins. Phinney hopes to make it onto the podium in his adopted home country while Kiriyenka will try to repeat last year's surprise on the back of what has been a highly successful Vuelta a Espana.

The course

Last year's course was a very difficult one with several climbs and descents that broke the riders' monotony. The organizers decided to send the riders up many of the climbs that characterize the Limburg province and as it was the case in the road races and the team time trials, the top of the famous Cauberg was located just 1km from the finish line.

The course for this year's road race has been described as the hardest since 1995 but the organizers haven't been tempted to make the courses for the time trials similarly difficult. Instead, the specialists lick their lips in anticipation of what is a very classical high-speed course with few technical challenges.

The 57,9km course is slightly longer than last year's and starts in Montecatini Terme close to Florence. From there, the riders head along mostly straight roads in a northeastern direction towards Pistoia and that opening stretch contains the course's only climb Serravalle Pistoriese whose top is located at the 7,3km mark. A short descent leads back to flat roads that takes the riders to Pistoia at the 15,7km mark.

In Pistoia, the riders make a right-hand turn to start their southeastern journey towards Florence and from there, the course will be identical with the one used for the women earlier in the day. Straight, flat roads bring the riders to the host city of this year's world championships where they will face the only technical complication on the route. 19 sharp corners inside the final 10km of the race will break the monotony that otherwise characterizes the course. The final of those come at the end of a series of turns and is a sharp left-hand bend that leads onto the 600m finishing straight. Intermediate times will be taken at the 7,31, 24,09 and 42,30km marks. The time trial specialist couldn't have asked for a better course and this is a race that will be decided by power and speed more than technical prowess.

Many riders had the chance to check most of the course in Sunday's team time trial which was held on  a route that was almost identical to the one used for the individual event. That day the route was 700m shorter and the only difference between the two races is the approach to the finish line with tomorrow's race offering a slightly more technical final part.

The weather

Until now, the world championships have had plenty of sunshine and that won't change for tomorrow's race. The temperature will stay around the 25-degree mark for the entire race and generally, the riders will have pleasant riding conditions.

There will be a moderate wind from a westerly direction which means that the riders will mostly have a cross-tailwind before turning into a headwind in the final 2km of the race. The wind will pick up slightly during the afternoon and so the later starters will be favoured.

The favourites

The world time trial championships has often been a rather predictable affair with one outstanding favorite dominating the list of contenders. This certainly isn't the case this year when the battle for the rainbow jersey shapes up to be the closest and most exciting for years. Tony Martin, Bradley Wiggins and Fabian Cancellara have dominated the time trial scene during the last several years but on few occasions they have raced against each other while all in peak condition. Tomorrow we will get the chance to gauge the three time trialing giants against each other in what shapes up as the most exciting and unpredictable world championships for years. This time it may really be regarded as a battle of the honour of being the world's best time trialist!

Only one of those riders has never had the chance to wear the rainbow bands in this discipline. Bradley Wiggins may have several Olympic and World titles on the track but despite an impressive palmares, his best performance at the road world championships was his silver medal ride in Copenhagen in 2011. While he was a solid time trialist in the early part of his road career, he never mixed it up with the best guys until he changed strategy and focused entirely on the road. While his weight loss allowed him to excel as a climber, his added endurance made him perform much better in long time trials as well. Having gradually improved during a couple of seasons, he reached his peak last year when he was undefeated in long time trials throughout the season.

His 2013 campaign has generally been a terrible one with his Giro ambitions being crushed by illness. Since then he has purely focused on tomorrow's race and specifically trained for one-hour long efforts. He has added weight to be better suited to the kind of race that's in store on the flat course in Florence and he has made use of Sky's meticulous preparation strategy. Few riders have a better success rate than Wiggins when it comes to specific preparation for a single target and there is no doubt that Wiggins is completely ready when he rolls down tomorrow's ramp.

Following his unsuccessful Giro, he has raced in the Tour de Pologne, the Eneco Tour and the Tour of Britain. While he never featured among the best in the road stages during the former two races, he tried his hand in the time trials. What really proves that the Brit is fully ready is his storming win in the Tour de Pologne when he put almost a minute into Cancellara in a 37km time trial. He didn't like the nature of the short, hilly route in the Eneco Tour but made another dominant ride in the Tour of Britain which he won overall as well. While it would have been more of a story if he hadn't won that time trial, his winning margin was a dominant one and he couldn't have wished a better confidence boost.

Last year Wiggins crushed the opposition in both long Tour time trials and he beat Martin and Cancellara with a dominant margin at the Olympics. Cancellara and Martin weren't present in the last Tour TT, Martin was hampered by a recent crash in the first one and both main rivals were suffering from recent crashes in the Olympics. However, Wiggins beat Martin convincingly in a very flat Dauphiné time trial to prove his dominance in the discipline. Having even prepared specifically for this event, Wiggins is probably even better than he was last year - at least he claims to have never been stronger for this kind of effort - and so he is our favourite to finally add a global TT crown to his name.

While Wiggins had a very good 2012 season, things were different for Tony Martin. The double world champion had been completely dominant in 2011 but last year he never found his best legs. He only won four time trials during the year which was a far cry from his previous dominance.

This year things have turned around and during the spring season, Martin seemed to be back to his 2011 level. So far he has only been beaten in three time trials and his defeats all came on rather hilly courses. When the courses have been of a flat nature, he has been mostly untouchable with the Dauphiné win being his most dominant performance. On that occasion, he beat Rohan Dennis and Chris Froome by a margin of almost a minute. However, it came more of a surprise that he was almost beaten by the latter in the flat Tour time trial and he didn't impress too much in the Vuelta. While the course for that race's time trial was hilly and so suited Fabian Cancellara's climbing specific training better than Martin's emphasis on power, it was striking that he wasn't able to take back time on Cancellara in the latter half of the stage which was all about high speed. Martin did a fantastic ride on stage 6 of the Spanish grand tour but otherwise he didn't leave too much of an impression during his two weeks in the race.

However, it would be a big mistake to rule out Martin. The most likely outcome is that tomorrow's race will shape up as a close battle between the reigning champion and Wiggins. No rider is more powerful than Martin and the German couldn't have designed a better course for his title defence than the one for tomorrow's race. He should be able to get well over the early climb and can ride at an immense speed on the power section. He would have preferred a less technical finish but the general impression is that this is a course for Martin. Whether it will be enough for him to beat Wiggins remains to be seen but it will certainly be an exciting battle.

Fabian Cancellara is the third of the time trialing giants but unlike Wiggins and Martin, the quadruple world champion has not put the time trial on top of his list of targets. The Swiss has a lifelong dream of becoming world road race champion and he has chosen 2013 as the year to accomplish the feat. The tough course in Florence has forced Cancellara to focus more on his climbing skills than his speed and power and the effect of his specific training is evident. In the Vuelta, he looked leaner than ever and he probably climbed better than he has done ever before. There is little doubt that he will be firing on all cylinders on Sunday.

However, that kind of specific training is likely to have cost him some power on the flat sections. He won the time trial in the Vuelta but the course for that race was rather hilly and suited his climbing legs well. When he last raced against Wiggins on a flatter course in the Tour de Pologne, he lost by almost a minute and it may indicate that he lacks the power which is required to win on this kind of course. On Sunday, his Radioshack team was a massive disappointment despite a rather strong line-up. He will gain time in the final technical section but at that time, the race may already have been lost. If one adds the fact that he has generally been below the level of Martin and Wiggins in recent years, a Cancellara win is an unexpected outcome. With his focus being mainly on the road race, he may decide to go hard in the first part to see if he is a winner candidate. If he isn't, he may take it easier on the latter part of the course.

The rider who may push Cancellara down from the podium is Taylor Phinney. The American has firmly established himself as number 4 in the hierarchy, just below the time trialing giants. Last year he almost beat Martin on the hilly course in Limburg and this year he will be out to get his revenge. This year's route suits the powerful American down to the ground and he is even riding on his adopted home roads in Italy. He has prepared specifically for both the team and individual time trial and has done very little recent racing while participating in a team time trial training camp.

Phinney would love to make amends for the team time trial disappointment but the win is probably beyond his reach. While he has put his immense power on show, he has never been up there with the three giants when they are at their best - Martin was clearly not well at last year's Worlds. Phinney was ill in the long Giro time trial and so he has only raced two "real" time trials this year. He was 3rd behind Wiggins and Cancellara in the Tour de Pologne and a disappointing 6th in the Eneco Tour. However, this race suits him much better than the hilly course in the Netherlands and he should improve tomorrow. The win is probably beyond his reach but a medal is certainly a realistic target.

The Italian host nation is not known for its time trialing prowess but this year they have one of the strongest riders in their ranks. Adriano Malori has long been known as a strong time trialist but this year, he has taken a massive step up. On the flat courses in Tirreno-Adriatico and Tour de Romandie, he was only beaten by Martin and in the spring, he also won stages in the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali and the Bayern Rundfahrt (which he also won overall). Since then he has only raced two disappointing time trials in the Tour of Slovenia and his national championships but he hopes to find back his best legs for his big home race. He showed good condition in some of the Italian one-day races and finalized his preparations in the recent team time trial where his Lampre team had no chance to mix it up with the best. The course suits his powerful riding style perfectly. The home nation would love to get into the spotlight and Malori may be the man to make it happen.

Like Malori, Lieuwe Westra is one of the greatest specialists for this kind of race. When the Dutchman is at his best, he rarely finishes outside the top 5 in the biggest time trials and he confirmed those credentials with 6 top 5 results in the early part of the season. However, a big question mark lingers over his head. He crashed in the Dauphiné and since then he hasn't found his best legs. He never figured in the Tour de France spotlight and had to abandon on the final stage due to illness. Despite his travails, he showed his class when he finished 8th in the Eneco Tour time trial before going on to ride a disappointing Vuelta a Espana.

Since then he has prepared specifically for the Worlds and claims to have spent more time on his TT bike than ever before. He was greatly encouraged by his performance in the team time trial and feels ready to defend the Dutch colours tomorrow. He has the level to finish in the top 5. The question is whether his condition allows him to do so.

Spain has few dedicated time trial specialists but Jonathan Castroviejo is one of the few riders to focus on the discipline. He has had a steady, natural progress and usually finished in the top 10 in the WorldTour time trials. He finished 9th at last year's Olympics and earlier this year he was 4th in the Dauphiné and 10th in the first Tour time trial which were all held on flat courses like tomorrow's. In an interview with Biciciclismo, he regretted the extremely flat nature of the route and claimed that it would be too much of an advantage for the bigger guys. Nonetheless, his past results show that he is very capable on this kind of courses and he showed great condition in the Canadian races. Look out for Castroviejo to be in top 5 contention.

Young Rohan Dennis had a tough start to his professional career but from the middle of May, his legs started to come around. The first signs of improvement came at the Tour of California when he was only beaten by Tejay van Garderen and Westra in the time trial but his real breakthrough race was the Dauphiné. On that occasion, he beat the likes of Froome, Castroviejo, Richie Porte, Michal Kwiatkowski and Edvald Boasson Hagen to finish 2nd behind Martin in the flat time trial. Tomorrow's course is not too different from the one used for that race and it proves that Dennis has the abilities to shine in this kind of race. He showed good form when he finished 2nd in the Tour of Alberta prologue and won the race overall. The distance may be a challenge for the neo-pro but he certainly has the strength to be in the mix.

Marco Pinotti was about to take a medal in last year's race when he crashed and broke his collarbone. He would love to make amends on home soil and has prepared specifically for the challenge. The Italian is a great time trialist who usually mixes it up with the best on the highest level and even has two flat Giro time trials on his palmares. However, Pinotti is a more versatile rider and may lack the power to contend for a medal tomorrow. Furthermore, he had to abandon the Vuelta due to illness and while he told CyclingQuotes that he feels recovered, it was certainly a blow. On the other hand, few riders know how to prepare themselves for a time trial like Pinotti and if everything goes according to plan, the Italian could sneak into the top 5.

Finally, we will point to Sylvain Chavanel. Usually, we would put him higher up on our list of favourites but recently, he hasn't shown the kind of form that should allow him to mix it up with the best. He proved his class when he won the Eneco Tour time trial to add to his 2013 palmares that also includes wins in his national championships and the 3 Days of De Panne. Since then he has been far from his best and he forfeited his participation in the road race due to a lack of condition. He was part of the gold medal winning team in the team time trial but there is no doubt that the Frenchman is not at the level that allowed him to shine earlier this season. However, Chavanel is such a classy time trialist that he can never be ruled out when it comes to a top 5 ride.

***** Bradley Wiggins

**** Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara

*** Taylor Phinney, Adriano Malori, Lieuwe Westra

** Jonathan Castroviejo, Rohan Dennis, Marco Pinotti, Sylvain Chavanel

* Thomas De Gendt, Jan Barta, Jesse Sergent, Patrick Gretsch, Richie Porte